Resilient seat cushion



53 30, H. L. BURNS RESILIENT SEAT CUSHION Filed Feb. 20, 1946 INVENTOR. #51169) L. 808M! I inane-ja- Patented Jan. 20, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE! i I, -z,4s4,e41 it V,

' flassmmsr sea-r cosmos lienryLrBurns, Yellow Springs, Ohio applieat ionFebi-uaryzli, 1940, Serial No. 649,106 p v .4c sin ciiss-mi (Granted under the act of lilarch 3, 1 883, as

amended April 30,1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the-Government for governmental purposes without payment to me of any royalty thereon. V

This invention relates to cushions generally and more particularly'to fluid filled cushions intended to be used to supportthe human body'in a sitting or reclining position. The invention has particular applicability for use in seat'cushions for invalid chairs and for use aboard airplanes.

Presently known cushions do not adequately minimize body fatigue where the user ofnecessity is required to remain in one position over extended periods of time. Fatigue tests have indicatedthat seat cushions should be constructed to automatically conform to the anatomy of the user and-at the same time should; be adapted to supply varying supporting forces distributed over the supporting surface.

Accordingly, the principal object of this-invention is .the provision of a cushion that reduces fatigue to a minimum'due tothe fact that it is adapted to exert local supporting forces which correspond in magnitude to the applied load as i such load is distributed over the cushion supportins surface. 1

A further objector the invention is the provision of a cushion comprising a plurality of interconnected-fluid containing chambers which are spaced and its various parts arranged so as to furnish an adequate ventilating space between its chambers and parts in order to permit the cushion to be adequately ventilated and cooled under various conditions andiduring prolonged use, the structure being at the same time 30 arranged and braced as to obviate any danger of the cushioning chambers developing relative lateral movement the one to the other.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a partly cut away perspective view of a cushion constructed in accordance with this invention:

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the cushion with certain upper elements removed to facilitate showing the arrangement of the resilient air filled chambers:

Fig. 3 is an enlarged'cross-sectlonal view taken substantially on 111163-301 Fig. 2. 1

As disclosedin the drawing,

and comprising an upper set and a lower set of resilient chambers 2 and 2', respectively. The chambers are preferably made in the shape of" bellows and are composed of rubber or similar material to retain air and render them resilient.

These chambers 2 and 2" aresecured' to or areproviding communication between said chambers;

while the joined ends between each upper chambar. 2 and'its companion'lower chamber? are open'to provide communicationbetween saidtwo companion chambers.

The resilient sheets a and! unsecured together by cement, glue-or othersuitable material in such a way as to cause the resilient chambers" 2 mounted on resilient sheet Into coincide in o posed relationship to resilient chambers 2'-mounted on resilient sheet 3'. The; resilient sheets I and 3' and connecting passages I are constructed .of-rubber like said chambers. Stem and valve means are suitably connected to the system o! chambers-to supply fluid, such as air, totheinteriors of the chambers andflconnecting passages for inflating these chambers. "While the fluid used may be either gaseous orjiiquid; valve means 6 as shown is more suitable for supplying gaseous fluid. v H

The ends of the resilient chambers remote from the resilient sheets 3 and 3' are caused to remain properly oriented by means of porous fabric sheets 1 and 1"to which the upper and the lower ends of said chambers are respectively aflixed by cement, glue or other suitable means. Thin felt or sponge rubber pads 8 and 8 are positioned adjacent to the exterior surfaces of porous fabric sheets I and I to distribute the supporting pressure of the spaced chambers and prevent discomfort to the user occasioned by relatively high 10- calized pressures near the outer ended the resilient chambers. The above described construction is completely encased in a fabric cover 5.

It should be noted that in this disclosed form of construction, the upper and lower sets of chambers or bellows 2 and 2' have their adjoining ends formed integral with the rubber sheets 3 and 3' the cushion shown herein is made up of two sections secured together i which are also fixed together; while the outward or remote ends of said bellows are similarly secured to fabric sheets 8 and 8'. This arrangemerit assures the retention of the bellows in their properly spaced positions, and it prevents any relative lateral movement between the various bellows or any shifting of the bellows laterally of the sheets.

Fig. 2 discloses in plan view the assembly with elements 6, l, 8, and 9 removed showing the upper resilient chambers 2 on upper sheet 3, and connecting passages 5. As illustrated in said Fig. 2, this disclosed form utilizes four difierent sizes of resilient chambers. These include chambers ll of the smallest diameter, chambers I2 of the next larger diameter, chambers l3 of still larger diameter, and chambers 14 of the largest diameter, the arrangement of the four sizes of resilient chambers being also shown in this Fig. 2. The resilient chambers of the largest diameter are grouped together and located midway between the sides of the cushion and slightly nearer to the rear; resilient chambers H of the smallest diameter occupy positions along the front edge of the cushion; and the resilient chambers 12 and 13 of intermediate sizes are variously positioned with respect to the largest and smallest resilient chambers.

Since the interiors of all the resilient chambers are interconnected, the fluid pressure at any given chambers and passages.

tegrally with each of said resilient sheets and positioned substantially perpendicular thereto so that each bellows of one resilient sheet is aligned with the corresponding bellows on the other sheet to form a plurality of fluid filled resilient chambers, a plurality of passages connecting the interiors of said resilient chambers together, and means for supplying fluid to the interiors of said 3. In a cushion construction, a plurality of fluid filled resilient chambers of different effective diameters, passages connecting the interiors of all of said chambers, a pair of fabric sheets to which the outward ends of said resilient chambers are affixed, additional sheet means connected to all of said chambers, substantially midway forms a construction pattern found to be most suitable in minimizing fatigue. This-pattern is in accordance with the; principle that the local supporting forces should .be proportional to the corresponding local forces applied to the cushion due to the Weight of theuser.

-It is notentirely necessary vin utilizing my invention to use resilient Zchambers of difierent diameters. Resilient chambers of the same effec tive diameters could. be used instead toaccomplish the desired results by grouping 'such chambers close together where the applied local load will be relatively great and by spreading. these chambers farther apart where the applied local load will be relatively light.

While I have described particular of my invention, it'is to be understood that I do not wish to be restricted thereto and that I intend to cover all modifications thereof which would be apparent to one 'skilled'in the art and which come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

.1. In a cushion construction a pair of juxtaposed resilient sheets secured together, fluid filled resilient bellows of different effective size and resisting force constructed integrally with each of embodiments between said fabric sheets, said pair of fabric sheets together with said intermediate sheet means serving to retain the chambers against relative lateral movement, a pair of pads positioned adjacent the exterior surfaces of said fab-,

ric sheets, and a cover completely enclosing said resilient chambers, fabric sheets, pads, and passages.

1 4. A resilient cushion construction comprising, a plurality of fluid filled chambers-each having opposed substantially parallel circular endsand a sidewall formed by a revolution of corrugated resilient material about an axis passing centrally through said circular ends and eachadapted to resiliently resist load in opposite directions along 2 the axis thereof, said chambers all being oriented in their load resisting directions, a yieldable fabric pad aiiixed to 'the opposite circular ends of said chambers for distributing a concentrated load over 'more than on'e'of said chambers and for supporting said chambers in their oriented direction, and passage means connecting the interior of all of said chambers with a fluid inlet, said passage means being formed in a sheet sub ,stantially midway between said yieldable pads and made integral with the side Wall of all of said chambers to-retai'n the chambers against relative lateral movement.

' HENRY L. BURNS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,640,618 Sampson Aug. 20, 1927 2,028,060 Gilbert Jan. 14, 1936 2,150,747 Naulty Mar. 14, 1939 2,350,711 Amos June 6, 1944 2,359,318 Lay et a1. Oct. 3, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 376,291 Great Britain July 4, 1932 794,573

France Dec. 12, 1935 

